Senescence
by Ribald
Summary: It would have been a dream if they could have grown old and grey together, but he was fine with this.


**Senescence**

_"The state of being old or the process of becoming old."_

_(se·nes·cent)_

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Weaves of silk draped over Masrur's body and hung loosely across his frame. Cherry plumped cushions contoured against aching muscles while a sea of gentle red supported him. Warmth expanded over his being, only to be disturbed by a mild throbbing in his chest. He ignored it. After all, everything else was nice. This was comfortable. This was safe, unlike before.

_Unlike before?_

He shut his eyes, scrunching them up before they fluttered open to take in the world. There were several people hovering around him but only one face he could make out. There was red, lots of it, and white. Narrowing his gaze, the blurs shimmered together, defining features that swirled till the found their home on a single face. Her skin was gently wrinkled and gray with age, yet her ruby stare allowed but a glimpse into the inferno that was her. Her angled features were marked by the grace of age and framed with strands of white. The corners of her eyes were red as drops teetered at the corners of her eyes before streaking down her cheeks in large, beautiful drops. This face that he treasured so dear could only belong to the most beautiful woman in the world. Even now, she was just as beautiful as she was the day they exchanged their vows.

His lips curled into a frown as he inspected the woman's distraught face. Her lips were thin, ashen, and spread wide. Her neck muscles were straining but he couldn't hear anything except for a buzz. It didn't seem like she was saying anything in particular. She was just staring down at him, mouth stretched, with tears tumbling down her cheeks.

_Tears don't suit you._

They clung to her thick lashes for dear life before free falling onto him. He wanted to reach out to her, to kiss away the tears, but he didn't. He couldn't. His body was heavy and unresponsive. It almost hurt to even think about moving his arms. If he could, he would've sat up and smoothed the worried knots she made with her brows.

_Sorry, but we lived a long life together… right?_

He would glance over her shoulder and spot his grown sons and daughters with their children, who twiddled their thumbs as they waited to be acknowledged. Every one of them would sport the same, lovely red hair and eyes that heralded them as Fanalis. He would briefly speak to them, one at a time. He would tell them to take care of Morgiana. Though, he had little to worry about there seeing they were there. It wasn't protection that she needed. She was the strongest women he knew - physically, mentally, and emotionally. He just didn't want her to be alone once he was gone. But with her children, she would be fine without him.

Before he'd let the comforting warmth take him, he would turn back to the love of his life one last time to say-

Masrur grimaced. He could feel again and it wasn't pleasant. Morgiana's tears seared his skin as each drop drew him from his stupor. The cushions were gone, replaced by debris that embedded into his flesh. The warmth that covered his body now plastered his clothes to his chest with a spreading red. All comfort was gone, replaced by a spine ripping agony that began with the hole in his chest.

It hurt to breathe.  
It hurt to think.

He would've screamed, but all that passed his lips was a spurt of blood.

The hole in his chest was far too large for those two dainty little hands of hers to cover. Those loving hands of hers were smeared with blood and he wanted to tell her to stop. He tried to lift his arms again, but could only grunt through clenched teeth. His arms and legs were shattered. Bone protruded from severed flesh, twisting his arms into a grotesque shape, riddled with fragment that blossomed red.

The buzzing cleared slightly and he could make out the shapes of people hovering around him, yelling. He couldn't see or decipher what they were saying. Only blurs and jumbled phrases. The one thing he could hear, however, was Morgiana's piercing scream.

It seemed that one of the larger figures had tried to pull her away only to be on the receiving end of her battle roar. Whoever it was, along with several others, fell back and the mumbled yelling ceased. Honestly, Masrur didn't think her roar was that scary. In fact, it was quite cute. Like a kitten trying to be a lion.

He could feel a miniscule smile twitch onto his lips.

Her rubied eyes turned on him, flashing with a look stressed with anger and grief. Her lithe body trembled and her crimson locks slipped from her shoulders. The shaking in her fingers only grew worse and she knew it. She pressed harder against the hole, but blood continued to pour from the wound. As she parted her lips to speak, he could hear the chattering of her teeth.

"Why?!"  
_Why not?_

He was confused, but only a little. He knew she'd be furious that he took a blow that was meant to kill her. No one but him had time to react. It was a last ditch effort from a dying enemy to take down one of Masrur's comrades. Morgiana just happened to be the closest with Masrur just a few feet away. His muscles were locked from the use of his household vessel that pushed him beyond the limits of anything a Fanalis could do. He shouldn't have been able to move a finger after. But for her, he did.

Now he was paying the price for it. He was the one sprawled on the ground with a canon sized hole in his chest; not her. He was the one with broken limbs and debris piercing his skin; not her. He was dying; not her.

He wouldn't have had it any other way.

He wanted to speak. Just for a second. Yet the words refused to pass his numbed lips. Words he'd never said to anyone. Not even her. Words he desperately wished would claw their way into existence.

_I love you._

As beautiful as she was when angered, he'd much rather see her smile.

_I love you._

He'd much rather see the red that would rush to her cheeks than the tears that cascaded down them.

_I love you._

He wanted to see her face tint a gentle pink as her lips curled into its perfect, sunshine smile. He wanted to hear her laugh chime through the air and dance with the wind that only ever took his breath away. He wanted to feel her embarrassed smile pushed against his own. He wanted to hold her close and with his arms, affirm the fact that he would protect her till death and on because he loved her.

Since she wasn't smiling, he did. It strained past the numbing pain that continued to seep through his features. He was content dying this way; dying to protect her. It would have been a dream if they could have grown old and grey together, but he was fine with this.

As his eyes became laden with exhaustion, the world around him began to fade at its edges. Yet he kept his gaze fixed on the one person he wished to etch into his memory. He would not forget her face even after death and his lives to come. He'd see her again. He knew without an inkling of a doubt that he would. When that happens, he wouldn't wait to fall in love with her. He just would. Then, he would tell her he loved her every time he could.

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**A/N:** While working on another fanfiction for MasMor, I was struck by inspiration to write this oneshot which will lead into another oneshot before finally going to the possible three-five chapter MasMor fic that I told you guys about in 'Concupiscent'. Since 'senescence' can work as both a prologue or a stand alone piece, I left it by itself, as I will the next one.

For clarification, Masrur and Morgiana had been together for about a year. They aren't married at the time of this fic, sadly. Masrur, being the reserved guy he is, never told Morgiana he loved her, but she knew he did through his actions.

Also the 'tears don't suit you' is a very vague reference to the 'it doesn't suit you', in Concupiscent, chapter 1. Haha.

Please let me know what you think! I know this took me a long time to just sit down and write, but your encouraging words from before really pushed me to finishing this!


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